In a recent white paper, exchange-traded fund provider UBS found that ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds were just as good as conventional funds for the same risk. Also called ethical, sustainable or socially responsible, assets under management in ESG-compliant ETFs have risen nearly 45% to $3.4bn in the last 18 months, according to data from BlackRock, parent of iShares. And the trend looks like it will continue. However, a shortage of ETFs is holding back wider adoption, with portfolio managers frustrated by the lack of products on offer. According to Camilla Ritchie, portfolio manager at 7IM: “There are not enough SRI/ESG ETFs for all the different asset classes.”

European robo-advisor Scalable Capital entered the UK market earlier this month, opening its portfolio management business with portfolios constructed exclusively from ETFs. It has over 1,200 invested clients, with investment amounts often substantially above the minimum threshold of £10,000. The move into the UK marks a key step in the firm’s ambitions to expand throughout Europe, having already established operations in Germany and Austria. Rebecca Hampson, associate editor at ETF Strategy talks to Adam French, founder and managing director of Scalable Capital about why it has launched in the UK, why ETFs and whether being a robo-advisor is financially viable.

Online wealth management firm Novia Global has teamed up with custody and settlement service firm Winterflood Business Services to offer multi-currency ETFs (including Sterling, US dollar and Euro) on its platform. The move will open up a broader range of investment options and asset classes to international investors. The total number of ETFs on offer through Novia’s platform now stands at 100 physically backed and synthetically replicated ETFs from nine providers. Bill Vasilieff, CEO of Novia said that the service has been implemented on the back of demand for this type of product and from Discretionary Fund Managers (DFMs) wanting US denominated ETF exposure.

Global investment firm Janus Capital Group has filed a registration statement with the SEC to launch an actively managed fixed income ETF. The move follows a new ruling from the regulator that will reduce the time taken between initial filings and launch on certain actively managed ETFs. The Janus Short Duration Income ETF (NYSE:VNLA) is expected to launch in October. Nick Cherney, Senior Vice President and Head of ETPs for Janus, said: “Advisors have embraced actively managed fixed-income ETFs as they look for expert management to navigate low cash returns and potentially rising rates.”

Stocks have outperformed commodities for the first time since April following commodities biggest three-month gain, according to a note from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The commodity rally ended in July with commodity indices producing some of the worst performances since records began in the 1970’s as a stronger dollar and declining probability of a rate hike this year put pressure on the asset class. The Dow Jones Commodity Index (DJCI) lost 6% in July, while the S&P GSCI lost 9.6% in total return. The latter saw its third worst July on record, dragged down by 16 out of the 24 commodities seeing their value drop in July, which is the most since November 2015 when 22 were down.

The Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting (MPM) today saw its Policy Board announce, by majority vote, that it would increase its exchange-traded fund purchasing program in a bid to expand stimulus. A note from the meeting stated that there would be: “An increase in purchases of ETFs by a 7-2 majority vote….The Bank will purchase ETFs so that their amount outstanding will increase at an annual pace of about 6 trillion yen.” (Roughly $58bn, which is almost double the previous pace of about 3.3 trillion yen).

Gold is making a comeback this year as investors look for safe-haven assets amid volatile markets, falling high grade bond yields and political events such as the EU Referendum. Data from exchange-traded product provider WisdomTree last week showed that gold ETPs have seen inflows of around $21bn in the first six months of the year. The metal is also trading at around $1,319 an ounce, which is up 24% since the beginning of the year. However, there is a strong case that gold is now over-priced, leaving little room for investors to buy the safe-haven asset at a sensible level. Danny Dolan, CEO China Post Global (UK) talks about why investors should look at gold mining ETFs.

Smart beta ETF provider Ossiam has announced that its Ossiam Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Value TR UCITS ETF has attracted more than $400m since its launch in June last year. The ETF, which tracks the Ossiam Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Value TR Index, has returned 5.73% since it launched, which compares with the 0.44% delivered by the S&P 500 Net TR Index over the same period. The ETF’s underlying index is part of the CAPE indices, which was developed between Barclays and Prof. Robert Shiller. He said: “I am pleased to mark the first anniversary of the Ossiam Shiller Barclays CAPE US fund.”

Niche index provider Solactive AG has launched a new index tracking UK listed companies whose revenues are primarily generated in the UK. The Solactive UK Domestic Index targets investors who are interested in the UK domestic market, which is the second largest market in Europe by GDP. The launch of the index comes a month after the EU Referendum result, which saw Britain vote to leave the European Union. Henning Kahre, Head of Research at Solactive AG, said in a statement: “London is one of the most important financial centres in the world and a listing on the LSE is therefore an attractive gateway to capital markets.”

Gold is making a comeback this year as high grade bond yields fall. Gold ETPs have benefited from inflows of around $21bn in the first six months of the year, which is in stark contrast to last year when the asset class saw redemptions of $3.4bn, according to a report from WisdomTree. The precious metal, which is now trading at around $1,319 an ounce (up 24% since the beginning of the year) enables investors to diversify their multi-asset portfolios because of its negative correlation with equities and bonds. Its renewed interest has also extended to the precious metals sector.